Work support



Nov. 14, 1950 e. G. LANDIS ETAL WORK SUPPORT 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed March 26. 1945 INVENTORS GEORGE G.LANDIS 0nd NORMAN J.HOENIE m 1 ATTORNEYS Nov. 14, 1950 G. G. LANDIS EIAL WORK SUPPORT Filed Marh 26. 1945 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTORS GEORGE G.LANDISOnd NORMAN J.HOEN|E BY ATTORNEYS Nov. 14, 1950 G. G. LANDIS ETAL WORK SUPPORT 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed March 26, 1945 INVENTOR-S GEORGE G. LANDISOnd BY NORMAN J. HOENIE ATTORNEYS Patented Nov. 14, 1950 WORK SUPPORT George G. Landis, South Euclid, and Norman J. Hoenie, Cleveland Heights, Ohio, assignors to The Lincoln Electric Company, Cleveland, Ohio, a corporation of Ohio Application March 26, 1945, Serial No. 584,968

2 Claims.

In our pending application filed July 3, 1942, Serial No. 496,736, now Patent No. 2,383,503, we disclose an improved construction of work support adapted for handling relatively large and cumbersome work-pieces in weld or other shops where it is necessary for workmen to have acce'ss to various parts of such work piece. The specific form of work support disclosed comprises a head stock and a tail stock, whereto when axially aligned the ends of a work-piece may be secured in combination with flexible supports wherefrom such stocks are respectively suspended.

We have now discovered that in addition to such flexible supports, a considerable further improvement is achieved by providing a floor support for either the head stock or tail stock while the work-piece is being operated upon. In the present improved mechanism we have also provided improved means for winding and unwinding the cable which may constitute the flexible support for either such head stock or tail stock, and in addition we provide improved forms of table or cradle which may be interposed between such head stock and tail stock to receive the workpiece, instead of attaching the latter directly to such head stock and tail stock.

To the accomplishment of the foregoing and related ends, said invention, then, consists of the means hereinafter fully described and particularly pointed out in the claims.

The annexed drawings and the following description set forth in detail certain mechanism embodying the invention, such disclosed means constituting, however, but one of various mechanical forms in which the principle of the invention may be used.

In said annexed drawings:

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of an illustrative work supporting mechanism or apparatus embodying our present improvements;

Fig. 2 is an end elevation thereof on a somewhat larger scale as viewed from the left in Fi 1;

Fig. 3 is a side elevation corresponding with that of Fig. 1 but showing a modification in the construction of the apparatus, wherein a table or cradle of special construction, interposedbetween the head stock and tail stock, constitutes the direct support for the work-piece;

Figs. 4, 5 and 6 are respectively a plan view, a side elevation and an end elevation, on a somewhat larger scale, of the table or cradle illustrated in Fig. 3;

Fig. 7' is a perspective view of a modified coneither of the previously described forms of the apparatus;

Fig. 8 is a central axial section of such modifled construction of tail stock;

Fig. 9 is a side elevation corresponding with that of Figs. 1 and 3, showing still a further modification in the construction of the apparatus, more particularly in that of the table or cradle illustrated in said Fig. 3;

Fig. 10 is a side elevation showing such last modified-form of apparatus in a different operative position; and

Fig. 11 is an end view of the same as viewed from the right in Fig. 1.

As in the case of the work support which forms the subject matter of our pending applications, so the present improved support or holder is designed to be used in conjunction with an overhead trackway, such as a monorail I on which a suitable carriage is adapted to run. This car-, riage may be either self-propelled or capable of being pulled along such trackway, and may take on any of the numerous forms familiarly used in shops for handling materials and parts. In the form illustrated in Fig. 1, such carriage comprises two separate trolleys or dollies 2, 2 which may be more or less loosely coupled together as by a cable length 3, so that one may be capable of pulling the other if desired and yet leave such trolleys free to approach each other closely when desired. Each such trolley is provided with a winding drum 4 equipped with a depending cable 5 having a hook it on the lower end thereof. The winding drums A may be operated by hand through the means usually provided for such operation, or preferably they will be reversibly driven by means of attached electric motors 1 equipped with a switch that is operable by a pull cord 8, withinreach of an operator standing on the floor.

The work supporting means proper comprise two principal members it and I'I which will be conveniently referred to as a head stock and tail stock, respectively, and'which respectively include plates l2 and [3 so mounted in the members as to be capable of rotative movement about a common axis when said plates are disposed so as to face each other in approximately parallel vertical planes. In the case. of head stock ID, the corresponding plate i2 is of circular or disc form and is provided with a stud shaft 14. journalled in the companion plate (see Fig. 2). The latter is provided at one point in its periphery with a bracket 15 to which link I1 is secured, such link being adapted for engagement when desired with the hook of the corresponding depending flexible support 5. Associated with such bracket are laterally projecting arms [9 that carry rollers disposed to engage a circumferential groove 20' in disc I2 and thus relieve stud shaft I 4 from undue lateral strain when a work-piece is attached to said disc, as will be presently described.

Also associated with the head stock is an indexing mechanism whereby a work-piece secured thereto may be rotated and held in desired position about the axis defined by stud shaft I4, the principal elements of such mechanism being a worm gear 2| attached to the inner face of plate or disc I2, and a worm 22 mounted on disc I5, that engages such gear. For the purpose of rotating worm 22, a reversible electric motor 23 is connected therewith through suitable reduction gearing 24.

The tail stock, as illustrated in Figs. 1 and 3, is of relatively simple construction, comprising in addition to plate I3, a conical housing 25 that extends axially from one face of said plate and terminates in a stud shaft 26 which is in turn received in a journal block 21 fitted with a link or clevis 28 for engagement when desired with the hook 6 of the corresponding flexible support 5.

Our improved work support as thus far described, it should be stated, is substantially the same as that disclosed in our previously identified pending application. The first feature of the present improved construction which will now be describedv comprises a floor support which, as illustrated, is associated with the head stock I0, although should it for any reason be found preferable, it may be equally well employed with the tail stock I I by making a corresponding slight modification in the construction of the latter. Referring to Figs. 1 and 2, such floor support will be seen to comprise a pedestal 3|) upon which is mounted for .rotative' movement about a vertical axis 3| of a U-shaped frame 32, the arms of which are shaped and spaced so as to span the head stock on a horizontal diametral line. Plate I5, which constitutes the relatively stationary element of the head stock, is provided with oppositely directed trunnions 33 on such diametral line which are adapted to seat in half bearings 34 provided for the purpose in the upper ends of the respective arms of frame member 32. It will be understood that when the head stock is supported in the trunnion bearings thus provided by this floor support, the flexible depending support will not be needed; in other words, the hook 6 may be entirely disengaged from link I7, or under certain conditions of use said depending flexible support may be entirely omitted.

The manner inwhich a work support comprising the foregoing head stock, tail stock and floor support may be utilized will now be explained. The work-piece W will ordinarily comprise, as illustrated in Fig. 1, parts which have been preassembled for the operation to be performed thereon, e. g. finally welding such parts together along both interior and exterior lines of contact. In order to support such work-piece, the above described head stock and tail stock are brought into contact with the respective ends of the piece and securely attached thereto as by tack welding at a suitable number of points w, or the ends of the work-piece may be bolted or clamped to the head stock and tail stock. In attaching the plates II and I2 to the work-piece, the respective stud shafts I4 and 26 thereof will be brought into approximate axial alignment; thereupon the lower ends of the cables or equivalent depending flexible supports 5 of the respective trolleys are engaged with said head stock and tail stock, and the latter, together with the work-piece held therebetween, lifted from the floor or elsewhere to any desired elevation. Where the flexible supports 5 depend from trolleys, which run on an overhead tramrail, as illustrated in Fig. 1, the work-piece may thus be assembled, together with the head and tail stock, at one point in the shop and transported to another point for the welding or other operation to be performed on the work-piece. Wherever such operation is carried out, a floor support, as illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2, will be located in proper position to receive the trunnions 33 of the head stock upon lowering the latter by means of its corresponding flexible depending support, and ordinarily the latter will then be 7 entirely disconnected. With the head stock thus carried wholly in trunnion bearings 34 of the floor support, it will be seen that by raising or lowering the tail stock through the medium of the winding drum 4 associated with its corresponding depending flexible support, the workpiece W may be swung so as to occupy any desired angle within an arc of approximately In other words, by raising such tail stock sufficiently, and correspondingly shifting the position of the associated trolley 2, the work-piece can be supported in a vertical position or be swung counterclockwise until it occupies an upside down position substantially the reverse of that illustrated in Fig. 1. In any position which the work-piece may thus occupy it is furthermore possible, by operation of the indexing mechanism associated with the head stock, to rotate the work-piece about the axis generally defined by the stud shafts I4 and 26.

Instead of directly securing the work-piece between the head stock and tail stock, as by attaching the same to discs I2 and I3 in the manner hereinbefore described, the latter, as illustrated in Fig. 3, may be joined by a frame or cradle 35 to which the work-piece is then in turn secured. It will be understood that in referring herein and in the claims which follow to the work-piece as having its respective ends Secured to the head and tail stocks, such ends may be thus secured either directly or through an intermediate mounting such as the frame or cradle in question.

The latter may of course take on various forms especially designed to handle work-pieces of. different kinds. Thus, as illustrated in Fig. 3.and in further detail in Figs. 4, 5 and 6, said cradle includes a relatively rigid base in the form of a plate 36, the ends of which are. adapted to be firmly bolted or clamped to the rotatable members of the head and tail stocks, respectively, and sup ported on such base is a second flexible plate 31 of somewhat less extent, at least longitudinally. The particular manner in which such second plate is thus supported from the first willvary, depending upon the degree and character of the flexure which it may be found desirable to impart to said second plate. As illustrated, it is attached along its transverse median line to a rib 39 correspond-.- inglylocated on the upper face of base plate 36, and attached adjacent the respective corners of the flexible plate 3'! are threaded pins 40 which pass through correspondingly located openings in the base plate and are engaged by nuts 4! pro-, vided with hand wheels 43 for the purpose. of

convenient rotation- 'By rotating such nuts to raise or lower the corresponding corners of the flexible plate 31., the latter may be dished,as illustrated in Fig. 5, or be given a variety of other contours. In order to strengthen said plate 31 in directions in which it is not required that it should be flexed, ribs 44 may be attached to its under side.

A work supporting frame or cradle, such as just described, is particularly suited for use in welding together a work-piece composed of structural members or the like which are apt to warp slightly as a result of the welding operation. By securing these members or certain of them to a table such as that provided by flexible plate 31, contoured in a direction the opposite of that produced by such warping action, we are able to produce a finished work-piece which will conform closely to the desired norm. It will be understood of course that a table constructed as just described may be employed entirely apart from the other features which are comprised in the present improved work support. Thus the base plate 36 may in effect be a stationary table top on which a flexible work receiving plate such as 31 is supported so that it may be variously contoured.

Instead of providing an overhead carriage with cable winding mechanism, as illustrated in Fig. 1, for raising and lowering either the head stock or the tail stock, such cable winding mechanism ma in certain cases be more conveniently incorporated directly in such stock. This will be particularly true in a shop where it is not required that overhead transport means be provided for the work-pieces so that it becomes entirely practicable to have the cable depend from a selected overhead point. Figs. '7 and 8 illustrate a tail stock which has been modified in construction to provide for the inclusion therein of such cable winding means.

As shown in these figures, the plate 45, which corresponds with plate l3 of the previously described simpler form of tail stock, is provided with a centrally located stud shaft 46 that is journalled in a second plate 4! in much the same manner as plate I2 of the previously described head stock is attached to plate l5 thereof. Plate 45, as illustrated, instead of being of disc form, is of general rectangular shape and is provided in its corners which project beyond plate 4! with holes 48 which may be used when desired to bolt or clamp the corresponding end of the workpiece thereto. Mounted on a bracket 49 that projects from the opposite face of plate 4! to that to which plate 45 is attached is a winding drum 5% adapted to be reversibly operated by means of a small electric motor 5| carried by the same bracket or otherwise suitably attached to the plate 41.

Such winding drum and motor are enclosed in a dome-like housing 52 that is attached at its periphery to plate 4! and is provided in its upper portion with an arcuate slot 53 through which the cable 54, corresponding with cable 5 of the previously described construction, passes upwardly to such point of attachment above as may be selected. Slot 53 is re-enforced on its respective sides by flanges 55 which also serve the further purpose of receiving therebetween a guide roll or pulley 56 which may be secured by means of a removable pin 51 in either of the two positions shown respectively in full and dotted lines in Fig. 8. With the cable held in place in the slot, as illustrated in full lines, the tail stock will be suspended therefrom with plate 45 substantially vertical, but in handling certain workpieces such cable may be found inconveniently close so as to be in the way of the operator. In such case, by shifting the position Of the pulley 56 to that shown in dotted lines, the depending portion of the cable will be moved a corresponding distance away from plate and thus the work, assuming that the plate is still maintained in a substantially vertical plane. On the other hand, by allowing the tail stock as a whole to swing around the pulley in such second position, the plate 45 ma sWing into a substantially horizontal plane and a work-piece if attached thereto will then depend downwardly therefrom.

For convenience in standing the modified construction of tail stock illustrated in Figs. 7 and 8 on the floor or other level support, when not in use, a downwardly projecting angular brace or floor rest 58 may be provided as illustrated in Fig. 7.

It will be understood that winding mechanism similar to that just described as being incorporated in the modified tail stock of Figs. 7 and 8 may likewise be incorporated in the head stock If} illustrated in Figs. 1, 2 and 3. It has been considered unnecessary to illustrate such arrangement since all that will be required is to mount on plate l5 of said head stock a winding drum corresponding with winding drum 50, with a motor for driving the same, or the same motor 23 employed for indexing purposes may be readily adapted by use of a shifting clutch to drive either the worm 22 for thus indexing the head stock or such winding drum.

In the remaining modification to be described, that illustrated in Figs. 9, 10 and 11, a form of frame or cradle differing from that illustrated in Fig. 3 is utilized, whereby our improved work support is especially adapted for handling workpieces W, of generally circular form, which require to be operated on both around the circular contour and at the end. Such work-pieces frequently are relatively short compared with such a work-piece W, as illustrated in Fig. 1,, and if directly attached to a tail stock in the manner previousl described, working access to such end may be hindered.

' Accordingly, in the modification in question a head stock I0, similar in all respects with the one previously described and adapted to be similarly supported for universal movement on a pedestal 3!], is provided with a plurality of laterally extending arms 63 that form a cradle of open semicylindrical form. The ends of these arms adjacent the head stock are securely attached as by means of an arcuate plate 6|, whereto they are joined, to plate l5 of said head stock which constitutes the non-rotatable member thereof. At their outer ends said arms are bent radially inwardly and are joined to form an eye 62 which is substantially aligned with the axis of the head stock, or preferably, as shown, lies slightl above such axis, and is provided with a link 63 for engagement by hook 6 Of a depending cable 5 from an overhead trolley support just as in the case however, the outer end of the work-piece is left unsupported. The trunnions of the head stock being new seated in the bearings therefor provided in the floor support, and the depending cable} being connected with the eye 62 of the cradle 60, it will be seen that the work-piece may belreadily swung into position where, as illustrated in Fig. 9, the operator will have convenient access to the curved sides thereof, or, as illustrated in Fig. 10, to the outer end thereof. Of course any intermediate angular position may be equally conveniently given the work-piece and Whatever its position, by operating the indexing mechanism included in the head stock, such work-piece may be rotated either continuously or intermittently to provide the operator ready access to any portion.

Obviously in the cradle constructed as just described the outer end thereof, with its eye 62, whereby a rotative connection with the depending flexible support is provided, constitutes the equivalent of the tail stock I I connected with the head stock I!) by means of frame or cradle 36 shown in Fig. 3, the only diiference being that the work-pieceinstead of being attached to such frame or cradle is attached to the rotatable part of the head stock. Such cradle construction may indeed be used alternatively for such head stock I I by merely detaching the plate 6! from the head stock. Where it is used only a single trolley will ordinarily be required to move the entire work support including the head stock and such cradle from one place to another in the shop, e. g. from the place where the work-piece is attached to the head stock to a'place where the floor support is located. However, if desired or found necessary because of the weight of the parts being handled, a second trolley with a cable or equivalent flexible depending support may be hooked onto the head stock just as before.

- Other modes of applying the principle of our invention may be employed instead of the one explained, change being made as regards the mechanism herein disclosed, provided the means stated by any'of the following claims or the equivalent ofsuch stated means be employed.

'We therefore particularly point out and distinctly claim as our invention:

1. In combination, a work support comprising a floor stand, a frame mounted thereon having horizontally disposed trunnion bearings, ya head stock having correspondingly disposed trunnions disengageably journalled in such bearings, said head stock including a work-supporting member rotatably mounted thereon, the rotative axis of which lies transversely of such trunnion axis, a tail stock adapted also to support such work at a point spaced from said head stock for rotation about such axis of rotation, flexible overhead lifting means to elevate and support said tail stock and thereby determine the oscillatory position of said head stock and work relative to said floor stand, and indexing mechanism included in said head stock to index such work and member and hold the same in desired position about such axis of rotation regardless of the oscillatory position thereof.

2. In combination, a work support comprising a floor stand, a frame mounted thereon for swiveling action about a vertical axis and having horizontally disposed trunnion bearings, a head stock having correspondingly disposed trunnions disengageably journalled in such bearings, said head stock including a work-supporting member rotatably mounted thereon, the rotative axis of which lies transversely of such trunnion axis, a tail stock adapted also to support such work at a point spaced from said head stock for rotation about such axis of rotation, flexible overhead lifting means to elevate and support said tail stock and thereby determine the oscillatory position of said head stock and work relative to said floor stand, and indexing mechanism included in said head stock to index such work and member and hold the same in desired position about such axis of rotation regardless of the oscillatory posi tion thereof.

GEORGE G. LANDIS.

NORMAN J. I-IOENIE.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:-

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Landis et a1 Aug. 28, 1945 

